Method and system for mobile device selectively reporting of gps position information to others

ABSTRACT

A privacy enhancement device for electronic device such as a cellular telephone. The privacy enhancement device may include a jammer which may produces false information, e.g. false information indicative of pseudo ranges. In addition, the navigation information used on the position detecting device may be locally stored versions of dynamically changing information. The navigation operation may be carried out using a Web service.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser.No. 12/014,093 filed Feb. 14, 2008, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 10/714,096 filed Nov. 14, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No.7,327,312 issued Feb. 5, 2008, which is a divisional application of U.S.application Ser. No. 09/682,600 filed Sep. 25, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No.6,700,534 issued Mar. 2, 2004, which is a continuation-in-partapplication of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/690,001 filed Oct. 16, 2000,now U.S. Pat. No. 6,473,031 issued Oct. 29, 2002, which are all hereinincorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

The present invention defines a system for enhancing privacy in anelectronic device with automatic position location detection.

Modern electronic devices often include automatic position locationdetection technology. For example, the modern cellular phone may includea satellite positioning system such as a GPS device. Other cellularphones, referred to as WAP phones, also automatically keep track of theusers position.

FIG. 1 shows an electronic device, which can be a wap phone, regularcellular phone, or any other electronic device. The device is shown withelectronic circuitry including electronic processor 110 which processessignals from both GPS device 115, and from a codec 120. The processoralso controls an RF device 125.

The electronic device automatically determines its position. In thisembodiment, it does so by communicating with a constellation of globalposition detecting satellites 130, for automatic determination ofposition. The electronic device may also communicate with the server140, such as to a base station. The electronic device may communicateits determined position to the server. This may be done, for example,for emergency purposes. In the case of a WAP device, this may be donesimply to monitor the position of the cellular phone. The server mayoutput the position, shown as 150.

SUMMARY

The present application defines a device which enhances privacy in sucha system. Specifically, the present application teaches a device whichselectively prevents the electronic device from transmitting itsposition. This hence allows selection of an enhanced privacy mode.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects of the invention will be described in detailwith reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an electronic device with a built-inautomatic position location detection system;

FIG. 2 shows a first embodiment of a privacy enhancing device for anelectronic element;

FIGS. 3A and 3B show a passive version of the privacy enhancing deviceusing an RF blocking technique;

FIG. 4 shows an active jammer device which actively produces a signal toprevent the reporting of position;

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary jammer which produces fake psuedoranges, tofool the satellite positioning device;

FIG. 6 shows an alternative position detecting device, in whichenvironmental clues may be used to enhance the position detection;

FIG. 7 shows an XML form which may be used to report information aboutthe environmental clues;

FIG. 8 shows an embodiment where current position may be stored andallowed to be used to later return back to that current position; and

FIGS. 9A-9C show a graphical user interface for a portable GPS device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The first embodiment is shown in FIG. 2. In this embodiment, theelectronic device is a portable telephone such as a cellular phone.However, it should be understood that other electronic devices, such ascomputers, personal digital assistants, or any other device which iscapable of communicating in any way, may use similar techniques to thosedisclosed herein. A portable phone 200 has a normal user interface 205,and other structure such as display, etc. The device also includes apositioning device 210. In this embodiment, a position detection blockcontrol 220 is provided. This is an actuation mechanism, such as abutton, which can be pressed to deactivate the function of thepositioning device 210. The unit's normal position forms an enablesignal 225 which enables the position detector 210, allowing theposition detector to determine its position, and report that position toa remote source, such as a base station. When the button is in itsoverride position, an indicator 225 is illuminated, indicating theprivacy mode has been entered. In this privacy-enhanced state, theenable signal is removed, thereby preventing position detector 210 fromreporting its position.

A concern, however, is that some users, either hackers or others withmore aura of authority, may use this system in a way which determinesposition surreptitiously, e.g., even when the button is placed onoverride. For example, law-enforcement officials might use this systemto keep track of someone without their knowledge. One way to do thismight be to fake an emergency call or the like. Doing this, however, mayhave serious privacy implications.

If a manufacturer includes a “back door” into the system, that “backdoor” might be used to determine the position of a person, without theirauthority or knowledge.

A test module 250 can be used to test the degree of privacy associatedwith the electronic device. This test module is connectable to theserver 260. It also runs a software layer 255 which can be updated viachannel 270, e.g., over the Internet. The test module 250, in operation,communicates with a service over the Internet. The service employsexperts to research and store the latest and most up-to-date way ofimproperly obtaining position in such a system. This is available viaupdate 270 from the Internet. This may be carried out as a subscriptionservice, in a similar way to the operations currently done to updatevirus definitions. The Internet returns ways of hacking the positiondetection prevention, which can hence be used by the test module toevaluate the privacy provided by the actuation 220.

The test module sends a request for position location to the phone 200,using the best available techniques. The phone returns information, andthis information is evaluated by the server 260. Server 260 returns anevaluation of the operation to the test module 250. This can provide auser with an indication of the level of privacy they have obtained.

Another embodiment is shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. This embodiment may bemost usable with a satellite positioning system in a telephone. In thiskind of phone, both sets of electronics—the GPS and the codec—may use acommon processor. However, a GPS system often requires a separateantenna. The separate antenna may be very sensitive to reception. Forexample, while cellular telephones can often be used indoors,corresponding GPS devices may not be usable in the same situations.Moreover, each separate telephone type will have a GPS antenna placed ina specified location. There are relatively few telephone types in commonuse, usually less than 50 types. This system finds, for each telephonetype, where the GPS antenna will be placed. The device 350 is made of anRF absorbing or reflecting material such as metal. The device is alsomade in way which allows it to be temporarily attached to the telephone,e.g., by clipping on to the phone. For example, the device may fit onboth sides of the telephone 310 and 320 and wrap around the telephone tocover areas adjacent the antenna on both of the surfaces. The cover 350covers both sides of the antenna, and therefore prevents GPS operationwhile the cover is clamped into place. In this way, privacy can beeffectively temporarily enhanced. FIGS. 3A and 3B show two differentplaces where the shield could be attached; but it should be understoodthat the shield could be attached in many different places.

One of the stated uses of GPS in a portable phone is for use in anemergency. When the user dials 911, the GPS device allows the emergencyauthorities to determine the user's precise location. In order to allowthis, the cover can be maintained in place during all operations otherthan emergencies. During emergencies, the cover can be removed. But oncethe cover is removed, the position of the electronic device can beautomatically detected, as usual.

The system of FIGS. 3A and 3B may not work with certain phones. Analternative system is shown in FIG. 4. In this phone, an active jammermodule 400 is provided. The jammer module either supplants or fools thesystem into obtaining false position information. For example, thejammer module may provide false satellite information, e.g., indicatinga false satellite position.

Satellite positioning system information is often provided in broadspectrum noise. The jammer 400 may produce broad spectrum noise, whichincludes information indicative of three satellites, but which istransmitted at a sufficiently low power to be receivable only at a veryshort range. In the system of FIG. 4, the jammer can also be attachedusing attachment clips 404. The attachment can place the transmitter ofthe jammer in close proximity with the satellite positioning systemantenna 402.

The jammer information can produce outputs that indicate a falselocation, for example. Similar operations can be carried out with WAPphones. In a WAP phone, for example, the system may override thecarrier, or tell the carrier false information about where the phone islocated. This may include providing false triangulation information intothe system or the like.

An example of the above-discussed jamming and shielding technique isillustrated in FIG. 5. It is recognized that the antenna which receivesthe automatic positioning information may be relatively sophisticatedand may be difficult to adequately shield. The portable telephone 500includes, as conventional, display 502, and user interface 504 whichenables communication with the telephone electronics. The telephone mayalso include a connector 506 which may often connect to receive powerand includes the capability of connection with the power in thetelephone and possible communication with the telephone.

The interface device 510 may be shaped to couple against the phone. Forexample, the interface device may have inner surfaces 511 which areadapted to be pressed against outer surfaces 501 of the telephonehousing. In addition, the device may include a strap 512 which connectsacross another portion of the telephone housing, to hold the interfacedevice 510 surfaces against the phone surfaces. The interface device 510may include a shielding function, and may also include a positionjamming function that is embodied as electronics within the housing ofthe interface device 510. The strap itself may also carry out ashielding function; i.e., it may be formed from a metallic material toshield against certain receptions.

The electronics, shown generically as 514, may be powered either fromthe connector areas 515, or from a replaceable battery 516.

In operation, this system may jam certain communications indicative ofthe device's location. The global positioning system may for example bea satellite positioning system. These systems, as conventional, mayreceive contact signals from satellites in which the “pseudoranges” areembedded within noise or other random information within the satellitesignal. Hence, the electronics 514 produce false pseudoranges. Thisfalse pseudorange information is received by the telephone device 500.The real pseudorange information is received by these devices atrelatively low-power. Accordingly, producing even % watt or less ofpseudorange information from the jamming device 510 may completelyoverwhelm the real pseudoranges that are incoming from the satellite.For example, the pseudoranges may be programmed to always indicatespecified locations such as the North Pole. As an alternative, thepseudoranges may be randomly selected, with the random values beinginserted as fake psuedoranges. The jamming device thus forces the unitto indicate a different location.

In another embodiment, the electronics 514 may include a processorrunning a specified program. That program may select a pseudorangerepresenting a specified location at random. Then, once the pseudorangeis selected, the location being represented by the pseudorange, and thusby the phone, may continually appear to move. This may simulate the useractually moving along a path within the ‘fake’ specified location.

FIG. 6 shows an alternative embodiment in which position detection andmonitoring may be augmented by additional operations carried out over anetwork. In this embodiment, the GPS computer 600 may be a relativelythin client. Examples of thin clients which may operate in the FIG. 6embodiment may include a cell phone, or a personal digital assistant“PDA”. In addition, other wireless devices such as laptops and othernetwork capable computers may be used as the computer 600.

It has been difficult to use such a thin client to carry out navigationassistance in any but the most superficial of ways. In this embodiment,communication over the network may be used to improve this operation.

The positioning information may include information obtained from GPSsatellites, and information obtained from other positioning elementssuch as repeaters and transponders. It may also include other kinds oftracking information such as the Syptech Local Positioning System(Syptech.com). For example, the block generically shown as 605 in FIG. 6may include transponders that produce “simulated” GPS information andtransmits that simulated information to the computer 600. Thetransponder may transmit pseudorange information of the type that wouldbe received by GPS receivers, but at a higher power level than could bereceived from the actual GPS satellites. Alternatively, it may transmitthis information in locations which are otherwise shielded against suchsatellite communications, such as indoors or under tree cover. Thetransponder 605 may also include bluetooth transponders which maytransmit directly to a bluetooth receiver 607 within the phone 600. Thissystem may also use a messaging service or web service to send theinformation. A “bluetooth blip” may also be used to convey locationinformation.

The location of the transponder may be known, or alternatively, thetransmission itself may include information indicative of itsinformation.

Environmental information may also be used to provide clues about thespecific location of the device 600.

On a thin client such as 600, the operations that can be done using theGPS information is often limited by the limited resources of the thinclient. Many such thin clients simply do not include enough memoryand/or resources to store all of the map information which may benecessary for navigation over an extended route, for example. Forexample, a PDA or cell phone might have some fixed small amount ofmemory, say 8 megabytes. However, navigation or position determinationin any desired area may require much more than that limited amount ofresources.

Accordingly, in this embodiment, the rough positioning information isused to download positioning information, e.g. map information, over thenetwork connection. Local positioning information is downloaded atspecified intervals, e.g., every time the unit moves more than 50 feet.The downloaded information may include additional information in thedirection of travel, and instructions to delete or ignore certaininformation that is not within the direction of travel. Alternatively,an entire new subset of information may be downloaded at any time. Inthis way, the stored information continually changes as the unit moves.Each new batch of stored information corresponds to a unit of storedinformation around the current unit position. As the unit moves, theinformation is continually updated to a new batch of information,centered around the current location.

The local map information is shown as 610, and is received over thenetwork connection as dynamic information, which is stored into thememory 604. This dynamic map information will be later replaced by newmap information, indicative of some new area.

Use of dynamically changing positioning information may minimize theamount of local resources which are necessary for navigation. Of course,a core of navigation information may be necessary, which may correspondto very rough information about positioning, as well as locationinformation from previous movements, for example.

In this embodiment, the client may also transmit local “raw”information. The raw information may include information about theenvironment, from which clues may be derived. These clues may becompared with a database, having a list of clues for the specific areas.

One example of environment information may include the speed of thedevice. If the user is going faster than a specified amount, (say,faster than 30 miles per hour), then this clue may indicate that theuser is on a road, and information from the map may be used to narrowdown the current location to a position of such a road. Of course, thespecific road must be determined and may be selected from the otherclues. Other clues may include time since a GPS fix. Various parametersmay affect the ability to obtain a GPS fix. This may include, forexample, trees covering the roadway, as well as tunnels. These clues mayhelp narrow down the user's location also.

Other environmental information may include the power and/or type ofcellular reception.

The server which receives this information may include a database withinformation about cellular reception in various areas.

Another form of environmental information may include a databaseindicating specified types of interference from various environmentalfactors. Each specified type of interference may have a specifieddifferent kind of signature. For example, the hum from a power line maybe one kind of signature; noise and/or interference from a train, powergenerating station, or radio transmitter may represent another kind ofsignature. The unit may monitor for different kinds of noise, and sendinformation about the noise that is received.

If the client receives cellular or other type information, theninformation about the different base stations or receivers/transmitterswhich are communicating with the client may be reported, for example,their ID numbers or other identifying information. The raw amount ofreceived power may also be reported.

To the extent that the thin client is also aware of its surroundings,information from that awareness may also be reported. For example, ifthe client has a microphone, then various information about the soundsit is hearing may be transmitted. If a camera is present in the client,then information from the camera may be sent. This information may bedetailed, that is it may include enough information to determine actualfeatures, or may be very coarse. Coarse information might only indicatethe degree of light or dark, and/or information about outlines ofspecific objects.

The client which is used may be a Web service, for example, or may bevia communications with the user's cellular telephone company. In anycase, the information may preferably be sent in a specified form typeformat.

For example, FIG. 7 shows the information being sent as an XML form withvarious tags representing the various raw data which can be sent. Thisallows the clues to be transmitted in an organized form. Although an XMLform is described herein, it should be understood that other forms couldalternatively be used. The use of an XML form, however, may producespecial advantages. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, different tags maybe provided to indicate the kind of information that is being sent. Asexplained above, various different environmental clues may be provided.Each of these clues may be associated with an XML tag. For example, aform might include only tags (e.g., <noise> parameters </noise>) forthose parameters which were available. Alternatively, the form a mayinclude all possible tags, but no data in between those tags unlessinformation about that data is sensed.

In each of these embodiments, the details about positioning of the thinclient may be enhanced by comparison to a database of information aboutvarious characteristics. The database may include characteristics as afunction of position. A unique combination of certain characteristicsmay indicate a position unambiguously, especially if coarse positioningfrom other operations has indicated a rough location.

In another embodiment, this same database may be stored locally, andclues about the environment may be used to enhance determination ofposition locally.

An advantage of this system is that it determines position using many ofthe same clues that are used by a human operator who attempts todetermine their position. The human operator often looks for familiarlandmarks and other items. In a similar way, this system may attempt todetermine the current position based on clues which may be analogous tolandmarks.

In another embodiment, the positioning operation is only allowed tooperate in an emergency. For example, the user may signify an emergency,which turns on all of the different clue-reporting positioning systemsthat are disclosed herein. This may be done to enhance the user'sprivacy to the extent possible.

The ability for a thin client to monitor position produces severalpossible advantages. The embodiment of FIG. 6 may also include a specialcontrol 620, referred to herein as a “Hansel and Gretel” (“HG”) control.When the HG control is actuated, the current location of the device isstored as a bookmark/stored location to be used later. The store andretrieval process may follow the flowchart of FIG. 8. The control isshown as being actuated at 800. At 802, the system determines ifinformation is already stored in the memory. Note that thisdetermination may be used only for a single bookmark system, and theflowchart may operate differently in other embodiments in which multipleitems are stored. If information is not stored in the memory at 802, orif this is a system where multiple bookmarks can be stored, then thecurrent location/coordinates are stored at 805. This storage locationmay store either the exact location, or a best guess about the location,obtained from any of the embodiments above, including GPS information asimproved using the clues about the environment.

In this embodiment, the information may be used as a bookmark. That is,the actuation of the control causes current coordinate information to bestored in the memory. The next actuation retrieves this data from thememory and uses it to navigate or guide the user back to the location.

The later retrieval from the memory is shown by the left flowchart sidein FIG. 8. When information is detected to be stored at 802, then at810, the computing element retrieves the stored coordinates. Thosecoordinates may then be processed. 812 represents processing thosecoordinates using the techniques described above, that is transmittingthem to a remote server which may calculate the mapping information, andreturn at 813, data to be used in plot coordinates. At 815, theoperation plots the course to the coordinates, which may includedisplaying a map and the like. Navigation continues at 820.

The retrieval bookmark may use the same HG control as shown in FIG. 8.That is, the first press stores the location in the memory, and thesecond press retrieves the location from the memory.

Alternatively, multiple different bookmarks may be stored and labeled bysome descriptive information in the memory. In this embodiment, 802 maybe replaced by an operation where one of multiple stored items isselected for navigation.

This may have significant advantages when used in an unfamiliarlocation. For example, a user may store the location of their hotel, andbe relatively assured that they will be able to return to the hotellater, using the bookmark function. Pressing the button effectivelyprovides a return path to the location, much like the trail of breadcrumbs left in the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale.

Analogously, this may also be used to guide the user back to theirrental car drop-off facility, or to the airport, or to any otherlocation.

In another embodiment, the thin client 600 has Web browsing capability,or more generally has access to a source of information over its networkconnection. An analogous position control to the HG control that isdescribed above may be used over the Internet as part of the client'sreception of information from the Internet network.

For example, the user may find a desired item or location. The user may,for example, find a desired restaurant or hotel from a remotelyaccessible database. The description of the restaurant or hotel mayinclude a description of the location in a form that can be understoodby a navigation device. A position control may be used to enter theaddress or coordinates of the item as a bookmark to be retrieved later.

Alternative Web uses for the position control may include entry of anaddress. For example, the address may be entered into the client andlater retrieved.

Alternatively, information indicative of a place may be acquired, andused as part of a message. A desired meeting place may be acquired, andtranslated into a form which can be understood by another positioningdevice, which can be coordinates or a physical address. A message with arequest for meeting as well as coordinates for the meeting may then betransmitted. At the remote end, the coordinates associated with themessage may be retrieved and used to control a navigation system.

An alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 9A-9C may operate with anavigation system of the type described above, and may allow selectionof a desired location using a graphical user interface. FIG. 9A shows aprocess of displaying a local area map centered in the user's currentarea.

The graphical selection embodiment may start with the view shown in FIG.9A, which shows a rough map of the entire area. This may representeither the entire area that can be navigated, or only a portion of thatarea. The user can select an area shown as “?” by clicking, which bringsup the menu of FIG. 9 b. FIG. 9B shows a zoomed area, centered aroundthe selected location 900, e.g. 10 miles in each direction. The exactextent of the area may depend on the scale of the map of FIG. 9A. As analternative, the map of FIG. 9B may be initially shown, with options toallow the user to expand the scale of what they view. For example, thecontrol 810 may command zoom out, with 812 commanding “zoom out a lot”.At any point, the user may press the control 814 to bring up a script,e.g. a JavaScript, enabling the user to enter text.

In order to facilitate navigation, the user may be provided withlandmarks. For example, the user may be shown different cities withinthe selected area. In FIG. 9B, the user sees such cities such asOceanside Center, as 816. Arrows are also provided such as 817 enablingthe map view to be rotated. The user may also be shown other commonlandmarks such as shopping centers and other items which enable the userto better get their bearing.

In an embodiment, again the GPS device may store a minimal amount ofinformation in order to facilitate operation on a thin client.Therefore, each time the user executes any of the clicks discussedabove, the contents of the click, shown as 922, are sent as a form to aWeb service. As above, the form may be in XML format, with specifiedtags indicating the content and format. In FIG. 9B, the user has taggedthe location 819. Therefore, a new area tag, along with generalcoordinates of the new tagged area, are sent as XML information to theWeb service that handles the navigation operation. The Web servicereturns information at 924 (FIG. 9C). This includes a recentered map nowcentered around the selected point 919. The recentered map showsdetailed streets that are as close to the point 919 as possible. Eachstreet may be associated with a screen tip. Placing the cursor over thestreet may bring up a screen tip or other information on the screenshowing the additional buttons for movement.

A pulldown menu having a list of streets and cities are provided as 925.If the user selects the pulldown menu, it provides a list of all thestreets within the new map area, shown as 930. The streets may bearranged alphabetically, by distance to the actual selected point, or bysome other criteria. This enables the user to select one of thosestreets.

In the embodiment of FIG. 9C, the user has selected one of thepositions. This information is sent as a form (e.g. an XML form) to aWeb service. The Web service then returns map information for thedesired route in a form that can be used by positioning equipment on thePDA. By using a standardized form of this type, any of a number ofdifferent Web services, which may be geographically distributed forexample, may be used for the navigation operation. That is, since astandardized form is used, the information can be easily exchangedbetween multiple different Web services or other services which providessources of information.

Although only a few embodiments have been disclosed in detail above,other modifications are possible. For example, any different kind ofthin computer can be used, such as a phone, or a PDA. While the abovedescribes the use of the information being for navigation, other uses ofthis kind of information can be used.

1. A method, comprising: operating a navigation system that determines acurrent location and provides navigation information that guides fromthe current location to a desired location; displaying a graphical userinterface, formed of a local area map, said local area map including atleast one landmark thereon; detecting selection of a desired locationfor navigation by selecting an area on said map and providing navigationinformation to said desired location; and automatically changing anamount of zoom on the map responsive to said selecting said area on themap.